APA committees and divisions reviewed and commented onteam providing assessment or treatment services. Psychologistspreliminary drafts of the Alzheimer’s plan. Deborah DiGilio,are explicitly mentioned as a government resource for evidence-director of APA’s Office on Aging, and Patricia Kobor, APA’sbased dementia guidelines to be disseminated.(SeeAPAsenior science policy analyst, managed APA’s input during theGuidelines on Dementia and Age-related Cognitive Change,planning. While the first draft included no mention of the word
www.apa.org/pi/aging/resources/dementia-guidelines.pdf.)

psychology, the final plan is more inclusive. The result, say those

• Risk factor prevention. The final plan includes a strongerinvolved, will lead to better care for people with Alzheimer’sstatement on the need for clinical trials on non-pharmacologicdisease and their caregivers, plus more opportunities forways to prevent and manage Alzheimer’s disease. A specificpsychologists.

lifestyle interventions that address known Alzheimer’s riskPark, PhD, who co-directs the Center for Vital Longevity andfactors such as obesity, diabetes, hypertension, smoking,is the distinguished universitydepression, and mental andchair in behavioral and brainsciences at the University ofTexas at Dallas. “It brings

“With behavioralphysical inactivity.

A separate researchsummit convened to addressenormous recognition thatthe plan’s first goal offunding has been woefully

interventions to manageestablishing research priorities.

inadequate for research on theaging mind and brain.”

diet and exercise, weIt called for additionalfunding for behavioral

A greater focus onprevention

The National Plan to Address
Alzheimer’s Disease now
provides a framework
through 2025 for driving
and tracking progress on
Alzheimer’s initiatives.The

may see improvementsin cognitive health andreduction in Alzheimer’sprevalence.”and cognitive research, aswell as more research onneuropsychological markers ofAlzheimer’s disease.

Opportunities forpsychologistsOne of the plan’srecommendations is to expandObama administrationdedicated additional funds of

$130 million for Alzheimer’sJENNIFER MANLYColumbia University Medical Centerfunding and incentives forhealth-care providers topursue careers in geriatricresearch in fiscal years 2012

and 2013, plus $26 million for Alzheimer’s programs, services,professional training and public education.

The plan’s focus on prevention reflects a major shiftfrom 10 years ago, says Glenn E. Smith, PhD, consultant onneurocognitive disorders at the Mayo Clinic and clinicaldirector of Alzheimer’s disease resources on MayoClinic.com.

“We now conceive of Alzheimer’s disease developing over 20 to

30 years or longer,” he explains. “We are developing methodsthat offer windows of opportunity for prevention strategies.”In particular, research has revealed that such chronicdisorders as hypertension and diabetes are putting people at riskfor Alzheimer’s, says neuropsychologist Jennifer Manly, PhD, anassociate professor at Columbia University Medical Center whoserves on the National Advisory Council and chairs its researchsubcommittee. “With behavioral interventions to manage dietand exercise, we may see improvements in cognitive health andspecialties. As the populationages, psychologists will have to incorporate expertise on agingand caregiving into their general practice, too, says Peter A.

Lichtenberg, PhD, professor and director of the Institute of
Gerontology and Merrill Palmer Skillman Institute at Wayne
State University in Michigan. “They’ll need to recognize
cognitive decline and know when it’s Alzheimer’s and not
delirium or frailty,” Lichtenberg says. (See the APAwebinar:New
guidelines for the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease, www.apa.org/
science/about/psa/2011/10/ alzheimers-webinar.aspx.)

Psychologists also are well-positioned to educate peopleabout Alzheimer’s and to refer them to resources. Accordingto the most recent “Facts and Figures” from the Alzheimer’sAssociation ( www.alz.org/downloads/facts_figures_2012.pdf),only about half of Caucasians and 30 percent of minorities withAlzheimer’s are ever formally diagnosed. The national planproposes more research and activities to aid outreach to high-reduction in Alzheimer’s prevalence,” she says.

Among the plan’s final provisions that APA recommended:• Interdisciplinary teams. The text was broadened sopsychologists and other health-care providers — in additionto physicians — are recognized as part of a skilled Alzheimer’srisk populations and minorities.

Using neuropsychological assessments to diagnose the earlystages of Alzheimer’s also requires psychological expertise.

“Psychology is better than any other discipline at assessingthinking challenges and subtle memory decline,” says Smith.